


Blackbird

by 99runecrafting



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, based on the ending where kate goes missing/david dies, two kids emotionally supporting each other, yes i was listening to that beatles song when i wrote this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-07
Updated: 2017-07-07
Packaged: 2018-11-28 20:57:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11426061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/99runecrafting/pseuds/99runecrafting
Summary: Gabe is haunted by the disappearance of his stepmother. Both him and Clementine reflect on the people they have lost.





	Blackbird

The sunlight pours through the glass-stained panes, tainting the walls of the church in vivid emeralds and blues. The warmth and the silence is familiar, and it reminds Gabe of what Sundays were like before: echoing hymns, _Abuelita_ clutching onto her rosary, him restlessly fidgeting as the priest droned on, the brief glares from his dad (“ _Basta ya,” Dad would warn him_ ) and potlucks after Mass with other families.

The memories of his life before seem as worn and faded as the surface of the pew he’s sitting on. The hard, wooden surface feels almost alien -- he’d gotten too used to the lumpy backseat of the van he had spent the last four years living in. By the end of the first year, Gabe came to hate everything about that van -- he cursed the cramped space and its obnoxious shade of shit-stain brown (who fucking paints a van this colour?!). But at this moment, he wants nothing more than to be curled up in the backseat again, to feel Mariana’s head resting on his shoulder and to listen to the faint hum of the engine.

His bones feel heavy and everything ached, and god, he’s just _so. Fucking. Tired_.

It took nearly three days to clear out Richmond. Even with Jesus’s group and every able, available hand helping, clearing every muerto in the settlement proved to be a demanding task. Gabe had helped too, scouring every corner he could find and asking every person he came across if they had seen his stepmom.

( _"She has green eyes and freckles, she’s about this tall, her hair’s usually in a braid,” his voice cracks, tears spilling, “Please, I need to find her.”_ )

He gazes at the crumpled paper -- a rough map he drew of Richmond. X’s mark buildings he investigated, lines and arrows trace the routes he took. Notes scrawl the margins, describing the physical appearances of _muertos_ he came across with the brand of the Frontier. It helped when other survivors asked about their missing loved ones. Gabe lost count of the graves he helped dig in the past few days. _At least they can begin healing now,_ he figures. Not that he wishes that Kate is dead, no fucking way José. But being suspended in this limbo of not knowing where she is, whether she’s alive has been torturing him since he came back to Richmond.

Gabe barely recognizes himself when he catches his reflection in polished surfaces. Eyes red and puffy with dark bags underneath. Cheeks a little more gaunt and hollow. Sleep came fitfully and his appetite has all but vanished. He eats just enough to keep him on his feet -- any more and his stomach would reject it all. _Fear is the coffee of emotions,_ Javi had once said. But this wasn’t _that_ kind of fear, though, the fire that roared in his ears and rushed through his veins and kept him sharp and alert and alive. This kind of fear was an ice water river, strangling and suffocating and pulling him down.

“Gabe?”

Gabe flinches, turning his head so fast he feels dizzy. It’s only Clementine. “Oh, hey Clem.”

“Hey yourself.” She joins him on the pew. Her shoulder is touching his and Gabe is suddenly aware of the small gap of space between them. Normally, he’d run his mouth around Clementine, throwing every joke he could think of from the top of his head and praying she laughs.

( _“That’s so dumb,” She remarks at his sad attempt at a pun. But nonetheless, she fails to contain her giggles. “You’re such a dork.”_

_“Sure it’s a dumb joke, but it’s good,” He argues, grinning, “I mean, you’re laughing, and that’s what a joke is supposed to do. So that means my jokes are good.” She rolls her eyes and swats him playfully on the arm.)_

But he’s exhausted and numb and drained of jokes. Gabe only offers her a weak smile. He focuses on the feel of her shoulder against his, anchoring himself from swirling ice waters that threaten to pull him under again and allows a comfortable silence to permeate between them. The bustling sounds of New Richmond are muffled behind the heavy oak doors of the church.

“I’m worried about you, Gabe,” Clementine mumbles. “Well, um, Javi and I are,” she adds quickly.

Gabe inhales deeply, steeling himself to look straight ahead. His vision blurs. “I just-” he chokes, quickly wiping a tear that runs down his face, “Kate…”

“I’m so sorry, Gabe,” Clementine says quietly.

“And Mari,” Gabe sniffles, “oh god, _Mari._ And _Dad_ … Fuck.” He furiously rubs his eyes, breathing in shakily to quell his sobs. He feels Clementine lean her head against his shoulder.

“How do you do it?” asks Gabe quietly, after a while.

“Do what?” Clementine inquires.

“Continue forward,” Gabe begins, “continue to live.”

Clementine pauses. “I don’t know,” she replies, “I guess I just… owe it to them.” She inhales a deep breath. “To everyone who’s ever taken care of me. Protected me.”

“They must have been good people.” Gabe smiles sheepishly. “I mean, you turned out good.”

Clementine smiles back, softly. “They were good,” Clementine says, “they weren’t perfect but… they were good.” She looks down at her hands. “You never get really used to it, you know.”

_Losing people,_ Gabe fills in the unspoken words.

“I thought I was weak,” Clementine continues, “because it still hurt, no matter how many times…” She lets out a shaky breath.

There’s a long pause of silence before Gabe finds the courage to thread his fingers through hers. He glances at Clementine, who continues to stare ahead. Heat rises in his cheeks when he squeezes her hand. She squeezes back.

“It hurts because they’re important,” Gabe speaks, “because we love them.”

“Yeah,” Clementine replies quietly, “it’s what keeps us alive, isn’t it?” She sighs. “It fucking sucks, though.”

“ _Word_ ,” Gabe agrees.

“We’ll find her, Gabe,” Clementine remarks, her voice low and intense. A promise.

“We’ll find AJ, too,” Gabe promises back.

 


End file.
